Little Compton Hosts World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade

There's nothing stronger than a community coming together to help one another and that's exactly what happened in Little Compton, Rhode Island, over the weekend.

Rather than wait until March 17 to host a St. Patrick's Day celebration, the village of Adamsville gathered on March 13 for a parade that's worthy enough to land in the Guinness Book of World Records.

At 89 feet long, the procession is being called the world's shortest St. Patrick's Day parade. And it was held for good reason.

Chuck, Mike and Will Kinanne, along with their cousin Pat, have always wanted to put something fun together in Adamsville since there isn't much going on in the little town (population 3,616) for St. Paddy's Day. They organized their event in under a month.

Get our free mobile app

The parade kicked off from the lampost of Kinnane family neighbor Bill Smith's driveway and finished at the Kinnane driveway. That made it shorter than the St. Paddy's parade in Hot Springs, Arkansas, by nine feet.

"This parade could not have happened without our neighbor Bill," Chuck told Fun 107. "It's a great community here. I give (Little Compton) all the credit and there was a great support group of friends and family. It was so good to see everyone come out to support, from Fred and Heather Melnyk, along with their daughters, of Bootleg BBQ, to anyone who donated."

The celebration was made complete with donations of Guinness from Adamsville Wine and Spirits, whiskey from Hinch Distillery and corned beef from Fall River's Market Basket, Chuck said.

Chuck also credited his mother Susan, wife Karey and sister Janey, who designed artwork for hats, posters and signs. Marjory O'Toole of Little Compton Historical Society made the official measurement.

"I truly can't say enough about these generous people," Chuck said.

Although it was a last-minute project, it was quite a successful one.

A donated corned beef and Guinness lunch were served following the parade for $25 each. Every last penny of the $5,000 raised was donated to the Little Compton Food Bank, where Chuck's family volunteers.

"It's one of those times where people are in need and it's something that felt right for the food bank, especially since our own neighbors need help, too, every now and then," Chuck said.

Proper permits were pulled for the parade and local businesses and people from Westport, Tiverton and Little Compton worked together to make it happen.

Plans for next year are already underway and it's looking to be bigger and better than this year, but only in terms of support. The parade itself will probably still be 89 feet. Stay tuned.